Aberfoyle... is an attractive village situated in the heart of the new National Park at the southern part of the Trossachs.
It has a thriving Main Street offering many facilities to tourists and visitors such as Pubs, Restaurants, Post Office, Bank, Supermarket and Garden Centre.
There are many bed and breakfast in Aberfoyle, a good selection of self catering holiday cottages and some hotels nearby.
There is a Forestry Commission campsite at Cobleland within walking distance along a cycle path and a few miles further there is a private campsite at Trossachs Holiday Park.
Details of all types of accommodation available near Aberfoyle are sorted by town and can be viewed by clicking on the buttons in the right column. You are able to contact individual establishments from this list and they will respond directly to you with availability. Alternatively, use our FREE accommodation finder which allows you to choose a number of accommodation types and send several e-mails with only one click.
The River Forth runs through Aberfoyle
Situated in the midst of the magnificent scenery of the Highland Boundary Fault offering many outdoor attractions for the visitor, Aberfoyle is a good base for walking and cycling and is the starting point for many miles of waymarked walks and cycle routes. The Forestry Commission has produced a great map showing all of the walking and cycling routes in theLoch Ard and Loch Achray Forests and the location of the many visitor attractions. A copy of the map and many other maps can be downloaded from the Maps and Trails page.
Aberfoyle was the third most important quarry in Scotland in the early 1900s and the location of some of the highest quality Scottish slate. Slate was only used for very big important buildings such as castles roofs and public buildinga as ordinary people thatched their roof with different natural materials, including straw, grass and bracken. However, by the late 1800s it became normal for everyone to use slate and thats when the quarry was at its busiest.
Aberfoyle Slate Quarry was once a thriving community
Aberfoyle Slate Quarry became a real industry and as the quarry was located in a remote location, the men who worked at the quarry also had to live there. In the early days, they lived in a wooden bunkhouse; by the 1890s the Aberfoyle Slate Company had built several rows of houses for them and their families to live in. The houses were known as The Aberfoyle Cottaries and they soon became a small village, which even had its own school. Nowadays, only the Hill Cottage still stands at the entrance, the rest of the village is gone but some remains of the village can be found on the left of the cottage. The Forestry Commission in Aberfoyle sometimes run guided tours of the quarry with the Forest Rangers and this is the best way to find out all about the history.
Just a short walk from the Village is the old graveyard and Kirk at Kirkton, once the hub of the village and now a ruin. The facinating history surrounding the Old Kirk is well worth a visit to learn more on the story of the Reverend Robert Kirk who, as legend would have it, was spirited away by the fairies in 1692 after he betrayed their secrets by writing about them in his book "The Secret Commonwealth of Elfs, Fauns and Fairies".
The Old Kirk in Aberfoyle with the two mort safes visable at the entrance
This, and the nearby Doon Hill make a facinating walk as the lone Scots Pine on the top of the hill is said to contain the spirit of Robert Kirk. Details of this walk and other short walks around Aberfoyle are listed in a dedicated leaflet available from the Information Centre or download a copy of the walking leaflet here.
The Trossachs Discovery Centre (Tourist Information) is situated in the Main Street with maps and publications to get the most of a visit to this wonderful little Village. This office is open all year round and has some interactive and audio visual displays. Accommodation can also be booked at the Visitor Centre.
Go Ape High Wire course is great fun for all the family
Go Ape and the longest zip wire in the UK are located at the David Marshall Lodge Visitor Centre in Aberfoyle. Go Ape is a high wire adventure course in the forest and is great fun for all the family. Starting from outside the Centre you are zipped across the forest to the course 460 metres away!! Not to be missed. Click here for information on booking and prices from Go Apes Website.
Aberfoyle has miles of waymarked walking and cycling routes
There are many miles of waymarked walking and cycling routes in and around Aberfoyle in The Queen Elizabeth Forest Park which forms part of the National Park.
The National Cycle Route 7 passes through Aberfoyle before going over The Dukes Pass towards Callander. This route is a long distance cycle route from Carlisle to Inverness and is partly on forest tracks and minor roads.
The Rob Roy Way long distance walk also passes the Village and more details of all of the walks and cycle routes can be found in the walking and cycling pages. A summary of the Maps and Brochures available for download can be found on the Maps and Trails page. Aberfoyle is a great base for discovering The Trossachs and Loch Lomond.
